Jeff Adachi - California's only elected public defender

San Francisco is the only city in California where the voters choose their public defender. Since 2002, the city has elected Jeff Adachi. He comes from a long line of public defenders who have been fighting to give equal representation to those caught up in the criminal justice system. Every year his office takes on more than twenty five thousand clients who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a lawyer.

“San Francisco is the most progressive, pro union, lefty - and I'd probably be the poster boy for that in many ways.”